Exercising outdoors has been a crucial respite from COVID-19 restrictions throughout the pandemic, with many discovering that running is a great way to look after both your mental and physical health, whether there’s a nationwide lockdown or not. But although it’s a fairly cheap sport to enjoy, you do need appropriate clothing and shoes.
With 14.5 million people in the UK living in poverty according to the government (figures from 2018/19), having the money to buy running gear is far from a given in this country. We at Coach feel that no-one should be excluded from the benefits outdoor exercise can bring.
Charity Sharewear agrees with us. This organisation is helping to alleviate the effects of poverty in this area with its No Wear To Run campaign. It asks people to donate usable running clothes and shoes to be distributed from its centres in Nottingham and Sheffield (a third location in Sutton-in-Ashfield, which sits between the two, is currently closed owing to the pandemic).
See related
- Seven Great UK Charity Walks For 2021
- The Best Running Gear For Men And Women, And What to Know Before You Buy
Clothing brand BAM is supporting Sharewear by offering customers the chance to request a postage-paid Sharewear recycling bag when placing orders. You can cram up to 5kg of clothing into the bag to send to the charity, and as a reward you’ll get £5 off your next BAM purchase.
Naturally it isn’t just BAM clothing you can send, although the No Wear To Run is only after activewear. And of course you don’t have to buy from BAM to donate, email bam@sharewearclothingscheme.org to arrange sending a package on your own dime. BAM will sort you out with a £10 voucher to use on its website.
You can also go directly to the charity if you live near Nottingham or Sheffield where it has centres accepting donations. Another way to support the campaign is to buy a No Wear To Run hoody on the Sharewear website.
